How does solid bamboo sound?

A bamboo guitar? Fender® are celebrating 60 years of the Telecaster® being around.

One of the ways of celebrating was to manufacture a “Telebration” Lamboo Telecaster® guitar. Have a looksee for yourself …

Isn’t she a beaut? But how does she sound?

Sustainable bamboo

This Telecaster celebrates the sustainability of laminated solid bamboo as an alternative timber for guitar designs.

In the words of Fender®

On its 1951 introduction, the Telecaster was a revolutionary instrument that would usher in whole new eras of musical innovation and excitement. Sixty years later, in 2011, it is an archetypal electric guitar with a long and storied history. The rich history of Fender guitars begins with the Telecaster, and we’re celebrating its 60th anniversary all year with 12 very special “Tele-bration” models that stay inside the Telecaster’s famously elegant lines while offering the finest and most unusual takes on the instrument’s past, present and future.

On the modern green/sustainability front, this most unusual Telecaster model features a maple neck and laminated bamboo (Lamboo®) top, with striking tortoise shell binding and pickguard.

The guys over at N Stuff Music took one of these guitars for a test drive – listen to those clean sounds coming off the bamboo soundboard …

Only the soundboard and back of this Telecaster@ guitar are made from laminated solid bamboo panels, but it’s a start in the right direction.

The bamboo species (Moso or Phylostacis pubescens) primarily used for solid bamboo panels is hard (as Oak), but not suited for the neck. One would have to use a species called Giant bamboo for this purpose.

We’re looking forward to seeing the guitar industry (as did the skateboard industry) start to look at using more and more sustainable materials in their guitar designs. Well done Fender® for taking this first step.

Here are a few more pictures Steve took of his new Lamboo Telecaster ..

Through extensive manufacturing research and experience, we specify our products at our factories to perform well in our diverse African climatic zones.

Being solid bamboo pioneers in Southern Africa, we have worked with users in all facets of timber application over the years.

We are driven to understand our customers specific requirements. As a result of these relationships with our varied clients, we have accumulated a lot of experience in using solid bamboo products wherever one would traditionally use timber.

This blog documents a few of our experiences and comments on various aspects of solid bamboo timber as used in various applications.

Cape Town based Oriental Bamboo is a bulk bamboo timber supplier of "specified for Southern Africa": bamboo boards, bamboo plywood panels, solid and hollow core bamboo doors via a network of timber merchants in South Africa and sub Saharan Africa.

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